Original author: Jon Southurst
Coin News
A new bitcoin POS system, Coin of Sale, is trying to make it easier for merchants to accept bitcoin payments for their goods and services.Created by Singapore-based expat Thomas Forgac, Coin of Sale works with both Android and iOS devices. When users sign up for an account, they are automatically set up with an Electrum wallet.The merchant must simply enter the amount of money that needs to be charged and the app will automatically generate a QR code for it. The customer then scans this QR code to complete the payment.This video by the company explains the process in more detail:
Coin of Sale is being used by Subway franchises in Czech Republic
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Forgac has been working on this POS system as a passion project since July 2013. However, after being encouraged by the local and the international response it has received, Forgac made it his full-time job at the start of the year.
In the second half of February, he launched a premium version that provides advanced reports and allows management of different outlets.
While the basic service is free of any commission charges, users need to pay 0.59% for the premium account. This service will soon also allow automatic fiat conversion, a feature that is Forgac’s top priority right now.
He added:
“Our current priority is to get the fiat versus Sing [SGD] in place which will allow merchants to withdraw 100% or smaller portions of their digital currency payments. This should help adoption with merchants who are more risk averse.”
The part-gallery part-café, Artistry, was the first place in Singapore to roll out Coin of Sale. CAD Café in the trendy Haji Lane was the next to follow suit. Now, more than 12 merchants in Singapore are using Coin of Sale – including a microbrewery, a printer shop and several restaurants and bars.
Despite the Singapore government’s regulatory crackdown, Forgac says the city-state is a good place to test out his product because of bitcoin’s general popularity here.
“I definitely feel more confident running it here than I would in some other parts of the world. Singapore is much more economically free than most of the world and any new regulation here is introduced gradually without bullying the existing businesses which it falls upon.”
Coin of Sale has also started to make the leap outside the Little Red Dot. A nail salon in Chicago, an independent movie theatre in Amsterdam and a couple of Subway outlets in the Czech Republic are also now using the service. Some of these merchants found out about Coin of Sale and started using the product even before Forgac made it his full-time job.
Coin of Sale is being used by Subway franchises in Czech RepublicImage via Coin of Sale
Original author: Roop Gill
2. The whole situation can be resolved without me doing so.
3. The manner in which the investigations are being carried out are concerning, the police haven’t made an attempt to contact me despite numerous personal requests for them to do so.Brewster suggests that the four customers provide their wallet addresses to the police, who can then forward this information to him. He has instructed a lawyer in Cyprus to facilitate this process.More information to follow.CyprusfraudNeo & Bee
Original author: Emily Spaven
Original author: Jon Southurst
Edan Yago is CEO of Epiphyte and a founding board member of the Digital Asset Transfer Authority (DATA). Epiphyte develops systems that bridge the gap between traditional financial networks and cryptofinancial networks.The views expressed in the article below are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of DATA.
Last week was a turning point for bitcoin and distributed cryptographic networks.It started with the Inside Bitcoins conference in New York, where it became clear that the bitcoin world is truly starting to live up to its promise of creating the most secure financial system in human history.Up until now, most of the services that we have developed around the bitcoin ecosystem have been centralised services mimicking the services of traditional finance.The result has been an industry that has lost its users hundreds of millions of dollars in a cocktail of scams, hacks, incompetence and whatever Mt. Gox was. But, the clear message from Inside Bitcoins is that we, as a community, have decided to stop drinking this dangerous frappe.More secure servicesA new generation of services is being launched that is taking advantage of the unique properties of blockchain technology to provide user-friendly security that scales. The clearest sign of this is the launch of services taking advantage of multi-signature wallets to secure transactions. Cryptocorp, Bitgo and Greenaddress have all created wallets that will help secure user coins without taking ownership of them.Bitrated are creating a multi-signature escrow with crowd sourced dispute arbitration and trust rating. The major exchanges are quietly looking at options for both improved public auditing and multi-signature-controlled holdings of user funds.Several stealth mode companies are working on building massively scalable peer-to-peer trading platforms, distributed on both crypto- and fiat currency sides of the trade.Additionally, a number of interesting new services are using the blockchain to build non-financial services. Maidsafe, for example, have built a secure data storage and communications platform that will reward people for providing hard-disk space and bandwidth with what has been described as ‘proof-of-storage.’
The week continued with the first Annual DATA Conference in Washington, DC. DATA is an organization of the leading digital currency companies and of which I am a board member. Its mission is to help the digital asset industry create a set of best practices to protect users and educate regulators and the public. The conference brought together leading voices from Congress, regulatory agencies, academia and the industry.Math as lawA major theme of the conference can be summed up with an exchange in which a regulator explained the need for regulation, saying (with some self-referencing irony): “We are from the government and we are here to help.” A member of DATA responded that “We are from the blockchain and we are here to help”.There are two types of technologies that can be used to regulate services and provide consumer protection. The old technology is legislative, a set of bureaucracy-based protocols for insuring trust and good behavior.The new technology is exemplified by the blockchain, software-based protocols for achieving the same thing. Are we ready yet to completely replace traditional governance with software and maths? Of course not.However, there was recognition from all sides, including representatives of regulatory agencies, that distributed technologies offer a new set of options for dealing with age-old societal problems of incompetence and crime.“The key thing regulators emphasized was that blunt tools inevitably lead to overreach. More targeted tools can lead to more nuanced solutions”What’s great is that many regulators came to participate at the DATA conference because they grasp this opportunity. More than anyone, they have seen firsthand how hard their job is using their current tool set.Their best intentions are often stymied by inefficiencies and unintended consequences. Their actions are often criticized because they find it hard to build consensus for rules that are made in a necessarily closed source fashion: proprietary and hierarchical.One example that they brought up is know your customer rules. In the current system, the only way for a criminal investigator to obtain the information they need is by requiring all financial services to keep extensive identification records and to provide these to government. Encryption and web-of-trust technologies provide an alternative, in which private information can be safe-guarded, while trust is still maintained.The key thing regulators emphasized was that blunt tools inevitably lead to overreach. More targeted tools can lead to more nuanced solutions.Less centralized authorityOne of the reasons I became involved in founding DATA is that I believe that the ‘regulation debate’ in bitcoin circles has been overly simplistic and polarized. Most of the conversation has revolved around the (ancient) question of “how much regulation do we need?” Lots? A little? None? Do we need new regulation for the blockchain? Does the existing regulation apply to bitcoin?Hidden in this debate is the fact that the blockchain itself is a new form of regulation. One based on software principles instead of legal and bureaucratic ones. This means we now have a new option – an escape from the tired old debate of how much central authority we need.Instead of having to decide between more authority or less authority, we have a third option: less centralized authority, more distributed authority. The best place to showcase this opportunity is the bitcoin space. We can protect users and society as a whole by building smart systems like the ones starting to emerge.New finance, new societyWe have a historic opportunity, to build a new type of society, at once less restrictive, more open and safer for everyone. If over the next few years we do a good job of this, we will revolutionize finance. Finance will stand a shining example for all other facets of human society, which today are organized by traditional methods of government.Our users are watching, the regulators are watching, the world is watching. Our opportunity is to innovate and improve at the level of the very protocols that safeguard our communities. We can augment the traditional tools of government with a new layer: government of the blockchain, by the blockchain, for the people.Software protection and concept of security images via ShutterstockDATAfinancial systemInside Bitcoinsregulation
Last week was a turning point for bitcoin and distributed cryptographic networks.It started with the Inside Bitcoins conference in New York, where it became clear that the bitcoin world is truly starting to live up to its promise of creating the most secure financial system in human history.Up until now, most of the services that we have developed around the bitcoin ecosystem have been centralised services mimicking the services of traditional finance.The result has been an industry that has lost its users hundreds of millions of dollars in a cocktail of scams, hacks, incompetence and whatever Mt. Gox was. But, the clear message from Inside Bitcoins is that we, as a community, have decided to stop drinking this dangerous frappe.More secure servicesA new generation of services is being launched that is taking advantage of the unique properties of blockchain technology to provide user-friendly security that scales. The clearest sign of this is the launch of services taking advantage of multi-signature wallets to secure transactions. Cryptocorp, Bitgo and Greenaddress have all created wallets that will help secure user coins without taking ownership of them.Bitrated are creating a multi-signature escrow with crowd sourced dispute arbitration and trust rating. The major exchanges are quietly looking at options for both improved public auditing and multi-signature-controlled holdings of user funds.Several stealth mode companies are working on building massively scalable peer-to-peer trading platforms, distributed on both crypto- and fiat currency sides of the trade.Additionally, a number of interesting new services are using the blockchain to build non-financial services. Maidsafe, for example, have built a secure data storage and communications platform that will reward people for providing hard-disk space and bandwidth with what has been described as ‘proof-of-storage.’The week continued with the first Annual DATA Conference in Washington, DC. DATA is an organization of the leading digital currency companies and of which I am a board member. Its mission is to help the digital asset industry create a set of best practices to protect users and educate regulators and the public. The conference brought together leading voices from Congress, regulatory agencies, academia and the industry.Math as lawA major theme of the conference can be summed up with an exchange in which a regulator explained the need for regulation, saying (with some self-referencing irony): “We are from the government and we are here to help.” A member of DATA responded that “We are from the blockchain and we are here to help”.There are two types of technologies that can be used to regulate services and provide consumer protection. The old technology is legislative, a set of bureaucracy-based protocols for insuring trust and good behavior.The new technology is exemplified by the blockchain, software-based protocols for achieving the same thing. Are we ready yet to completely replace traditional governance with software and maths? Of course not.However, there was recognition from all sides, including representatives of regulatory agencies, that distributed technologies offer a new set of options for dealing with age-old societal problems of incompetence and crime.“The key thing regulators emphasized was that blunt tools inevitably lead to overreach. More targeted tools can lead to more nuanced solutions”What’s great is that many regulators came to participate at the DATA conference because they grasp this opportunity. More than anyone, they have seen firsthand how hard their job is using their current tool set.Their best intentions are often stymied by inefficiencies and unintended consequences. Their actions are often criticized because they find it hard to build consensus for rules that are made in a necessarily closed source fashion: proprietary and hierarchical.One example that they brought up is know your customer rules. In the current system, the only way for a criminal investigator to obtain the information they need is by requiring all financial services to keep extensive identification records and to provide these to government. Encryption and web-of-trust technologies provide an alternative, in which private information can be safe-guarded, while trust is still maintained.The key thing regulators emphasized was that blunt tools inevitably lead to overreach. More targeted tools can lead to more nuanced solutions.Less centralized authorityOne of the reasons I became involved in founding DATA is that I believe that the ‘regulation debate’ in bitcoin circles has been overly simplistic and polarized. Most of the conversation has revolved around the (ancient) question of “how much regulation do we need?” Lots? A little? None? Do we need new regulation for the blockchain? Does the existing regulation apply to bitcoin?Hidden in this debate is the fact that the blockchain itself is a new form of regulation. One based on software principles instead of legal and bureaucratic ones. This means we now have a new option – an escape from the tired old debate of how much central authority we need.Instead of having to decide between more authority or less authority, we have a third option: less centralized authority, more distributed authority. The best place to showcase this opportunity is the bitcoin space. We can protect users and society as a whole by building smart systems like the ones starting to emerge.New finance, new societyWe have a historic opportunity, to build a new type of society, at once less restrictive, more open and safer for everyone. If over the next few years we do a good job of this, we will revolutionize finance. Finance will stand a shining example for all other facets of human society, which today are organized by traditional methods of government.Our users are watching, the regulators are watching, the world is watching. Our opportunity is to innovate and improve at the level of the very protocols that safeguard our communities. We can augment the traditional tools of government with a new layer: government of the blockchain, by the blockchain, for the people.Software protection and concept of security images via ShutterstockDATAfinancial systemInside BitcoinsregulationOriginal author: Edan Yago
A word of caution – TigerDirect.ca is not explicitly exactly stating that it plans to accept bitcoin, although the “stay tuned” does imply the company is at least considering it.Keep in mind that TigerDirect’s original announcement came out of nowhere, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see an announcement from TigerDirect Canada soon.More information to follow, so in the words of TigerDirect – please stay tuned.CanadaTigerDirectTigerDirect.caOriginal author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic
BitInstant and Silk RoadBitInstant was one of the first companies that easily enabled bitcoin enthusiasts to procure BTC in the US. Bitinstant users could go to a bank location or send cash directly, and BitInstant would convert it into bitcoin.Shrem was also one of the founding members of advocacy group the Bitcoin Foundation, and subsequently stepped down from his vice chairman Foundation board post following his arrest.Silk Road’s website was taken offline by federal authorities last October. Its supposed mastermind, Ross Ulbrict, was indicted in February on drug and money laundering charges.The charges in the indictment involving Shrem and Faiella are two counts of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of willful failure to file a suspicious activity report.Shrem is expected to be arraigned on April 29.Charlie Shrem image via BloombergBitcoin FoundationBTCKingCharlie Shrem indictedRobert FaiellaRoss UlbrictSilk Road
Original author: Daniel Cawrey
Original author: Pete Rizzo